AFTER more than 18 years of service to the Spiders, today marks Charley King’s last at Queen’s Park FC.
Over those years the youth and academy coach has helped hunreds of players in the game, worked alongside numerous coaches, colleagues and managers and overseen countless matches.
It’s a connection he insists he will miss as he moves on to take up a new opportunity with a new club in the William Hill Premiership.
“I’ve been at Queen’s Park for more than half of my entire life,” Charley said. “ I grew up on the southside and they were my local team. I could never have envisaged a placement through college would open up such opportunities but the club grows on you.
“It’s a club which means a lot to me after all these years. A club I’ve enjoyed success with and a club which has given me so much. I know I have given a lot back to the club too – and it was a hard decision to make a move and leave at this point.
“We have high hopes for the current crop of players but I will still watch from a bit further away as they make their towards the first team.”
Many players who have worked with Charley over the years have done exactly that. Current first-team striker Michael Ruth was in the first team he coached.
“I always said the aim was for one player from each age-group to make it from the academy. More was a bonus – and I think there’s been one from each I’ve worked with.”
He can rhyme off the likes of Ruth, Zach Mauchin, Cammy Bruce through to Ollie Fisher, Milosz Sliwinski, Tyrece McDonnell and Ross McLean.
“Ross was a player I spotted playing for his boys club,” he added. “That’s something that’s a great source of pride – not only seeing players you’ve worked with make it but others you’ve scouted too.”
It’s not just at Queen’s Park he’s seen players excel. Charley has coached with the Scotland under-17s and youth squads and at SFA Performance School in Holyrood.
He’s seen the likes of Callan McKenna, Alex Bannon and Regan Thompson earn the club transfer fees and kick on in England.
Nine of the current first-team have worked closely with him in the Academy and youth set-up and he looks with pride at the contribution he has made to a great many careers.
But others have helped him too.
“I worked with David McCallum, George Watson, Jim Sinclair, Tommy McIntyre and Gardner Speirs – he was a huge help to me. I really appreciated his trust in me at taking the under-18s and I really learned from that experience.
“There were a lot of different managers too, Gus Macpherson was a great sounding board. There have been a lot of changes in people and in the club. There’s maybe been three or four clubs in one given all the the changes throughout my time, but it’s been special.
“I’d never have a bad word to say about the club. It was the perfect club for me and is a great club to bring through players and young coaches. I am very thankful for what it has given me and I hope I have repaid it in the work I have done.”
Among the highlights were last season’s CAS Advanced Youth league and Cup double where he coached the under-19s to success and assisted Lee Mitchell and his under-17s to the same silverware in a double-double.
Charley was also head coach of the Queen’s park youth team who created club history by reaching the Scottish Youth Cup Final for the first time, back at Hampden.
Queen’s Park supporters will be able to show their gratitude to Charley one final time, when he is invited as special guest at tomorrow’s first-team game with Stenhousemuir.
Charley’s role as under-19s coach will be filled by Lee Mitchell with recruitment of an additional coach within our youth set-up in progress.
The club would again like to place on record our thanks and gratitude to Charley for the dedication and service to the club over his 18 years at Queen’s Park FC. He moves on with our very best wishes.
